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Hungary
Geography
Location:
Central Europe, northwest of Romania
Geographic
coordinates:
47 00 N, 20 00 E
Map
references:
Europe
Area:
Rank Order
total: 93,030 sq km
land: 92,340 sq km
water: 690 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Indiana
Land
boundaries:
total: 2,171 km
border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km,
Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Slovakia 677 km, Slovenia 102 km,
Ukraine 103 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers
Terrain:
mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian
border
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Tisza River 78 m
highest point: Kekes 1,014 m
Natural resources:
bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land
Land
use:
arable land: 50.09%
permanent crops: 2.06%
other: 47.85% (2001)
People:
Population:
Rank Order
10,006,835 (July 2005 est.)
Age
structure:
0-14 years: 15.8% (male 813,203/female 769,687)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 3,405,559/female 3,511,141)
65 years and over: 15.1% (male 547,323/female 959,922) (2005 est.)
Median
age:
total: 38.57 years
male: 36.1 years
female: 41.24 years (2005 est.)
Population
growth rate:
-0.26% (2005 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Hungarian(s)
adjective: Hungarian
Ethnic
groups:
Hungarian 89.9%, Roma 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak 0.8%, Romanian
0.7%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%, atheist and other
7.5%
Languages:
Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.4%
male: 99.5%
female: 99.3% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Hungary
conventional short form: Hungary
local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag
local short form: Magyarorszag
Government
type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
Budapest
Capital
city: Budapest
Independence: 1001 (unification by King Stephen I)
National holiday:
Saint Stephen's Day, 20 August
Constitution:
18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972;
18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for individuals and
constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and
also established the principle of parliamentary oversight; 1997
amendment streamlined the judicial system
Legal system:
Executive branch:
chief of state: Ferenc MADL (since 4 August 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ferenc GYURCSANY (since 29 September
2004)
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (386 seats; members
are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional and direct
representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 and 21 April 2002 (next to be held NA April
2006)
election results: percent of vote by party (5% or more of the vote
required for parliamentary representation in the first round) -
Fidesz/MDF 48.70%, MSzP 46.11%, SzDSz 4.92%, other 0.27%; seats
by party - Fidesz 164, MSzP 178, MDF 24, SzDSz 20
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly
for nine-year terms)
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance of Free Democrats or SzDSz [Gabor KUNCZE]; Hungarian Civic
Alliance or Fidesz [Viktor ORBAN, chairman]; Hungarian Democratic
Forum or MDF [Ibolya DAVID]; Hungarian Democratic People's Party
or MDNP [Erzsebet PUSZTAI, chairman]; Hungarian Socialist Party
or MSzP [Istvan HILLER, chairman]; Hungarian Workers' Party or MMP
[Gyula THURMER, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating
state), EU (new member), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer),
OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Andras SIMONYI
chancery: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730
FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador George Herbert WALKER
embassy: Szabadsag ter 12, H-1054 Budapest
mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Budapest, 5270 Budapest
Place, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270
telephone: [36] (1) 475-4400
FAX: [36] (1) 475-4764
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green
Economy
Hungary
Economy - overview:
Hungary has made the transition from a centrally planned to a market
economy, with a per capita income one-half that of the Big Four
European nations. Hungary continues to demonstrate strong economic
growth and acceded to the European Union in May 2004. The private
sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment
in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative foreign direct
investment totaling more than $23 billion since 1989. Hungarian
sovereign debt was upgraded in 2000 and together with the Czech
Republic holds the highest rating among the Central European transition
economies; however, ratings agencies have expressed concerns over
Hungary's unsustainable budget and current account deficits. Inflation
has declined from 14% in 1998 to 7% in 2004. Unemployment has persisted
around the 6% level, but Hungary's labor force participation rate
of 57% is one of the lowest in the OECD. Germany is by far Hungary's
largest economic partner. Policy challenges include cutting the
public sector deficit to 3% of GDP by 2008, from about 5% in 2004,
and orchestrating an orderly interest rate reduction without sparking
capital outflows.
GDP:
Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $149.3 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Rank Order
3.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $14,900 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.3%
industry: 31.4%
services: 65.3% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
Rank Order
22.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
8.6% (1993 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 20.5% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
24.4 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Rank Order
7% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
Rank Order
4.17 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 6.2%, industry 27.1%, services 66.7% (2002)
Unemployment rate:
Rank Order
5.9% (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $46.07 billion
expenditures: $51.36 billion, including capital expenditures of
NA (2004 est.)
Public debt:
Rank Order
58.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle,
poultry, dairy products
Industries:
mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles,
chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles
Industrial production growth rate:
Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment 61.1%, other manufactures 28.7%, food products
6.5%, raw materials 2%, fuels and electricity 1.6% (2003)
Exports - partners:
Germany 34.1%, Austria 8%, Italy 5.8%, France 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Netherlands
4.1% (2003)
Imports:
Rank Order
$58.68 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment 51.6%, other manufactures 35.7%, fuels and
electricity 7.7%, food products 3.1%, raw materials 2.0% (2003)
Imports - partners:
Germany 24.5%, Italy 7.1%, China 6.9%, Austria 6.3%, Russia 6.2%,
France 4.8%, Japan 4.2% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
Rank Order
$14.8 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
Rank Order
$57 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$4.2 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion
funds (2004-06)
Currency:
forint (HUF)
general assessment: the telephone system has been modernized and
is capable of satisfying all requests for telecommunication service
domestic: the system is digitalized and highly automated; trunk
services are carried by fiber-optic cable and digital microwave
radio relay; a program for fiber-optic subscriber connections was
initiated in 1996; heavy use is made of mobile cellular telephones
international: country code - 36; Hungary has fiber-optic cable
connections with all neighboring countries; the international switch
is in Budapest; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Inmarsat, 1 very small aperture
terminal (VSAT) system of ground terminals
Disputes - international:
in 2004, Hungary amended the status law extending special social
and cultural benefits and voted down a referendum to extend dual
citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living in neighboring states, which
have objected to such measures; consultations continue between Slovakia
and Hungary over Hungary's completion of its portion the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros
hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that
forms part of the EU's external border, Hungary must implement the
strict Schengen border rules
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